Why do people in Xiangtan love betel nut?

Category: Culture/Art >> Folklore & Traditions

Description of the problem:

Betel nut is not a specialty of Xiangtan, the surrounding areas do not have this habit, why Xiangtan (Zhuzhou, Changsha) love to drink?

Analysis:

Xiangtan betel nut development history

The more betel nut is chewed, the more powerful, this mouth out of the mouth into, make friends and play the garden, to avoid the plague of appetizers to solve the oily." This is a folk song circulating in the streets of Xiangtan, which vividly reflects the inexorable relationship between betel nut and Xiangtan people and Xiangtan food culture. Betel nut, as a food, has taken root in Xiangtan development of more than three hundred years of history, according to the "Xiangtan City Records": 1650 (Shunzhi six years) in the first month of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty soldiers in Xiangtan slaughtered the city for nine days, the county population of tens of thousands of people, the remaining households do not on the two, thirty, people less than a hundred mouth. An Anhui merchant surnamed Cheng, got an old monk chewing betel nut to avoid the epidemic method to collect the body of the net area, and since then the habit of chewing betel nut has continued. 1779 (forty-fourth year of the Qianlong era) Xiangtan epidemic, Xiangtan city residents suffering from dropsy, the county magistrate, Bai Jing, will be the medicinal betel nut to chew patients, dropsy disappeared, and then the original patients often chewed, so that the patients also chewed, and for a long time into a habit. As a result, Xiangtan betel nut was gradually developed. Along with the development of Xiangtan betel nut, betel nut culture also came into being, some local flower ancient opera, "Zan land" and wedding joy and other folk packages are all betel nut's praises, such as the "Tanzhou bamboo stick lyrics," wrote: "the flow of the wonderful drama words love Yang, beautiful posture and elegant good at; a string of beads and throat song just like a turn, some people Someone throws betel nut under the stage." The image outlines the close relationship between betel nut and local culture and art in Xiangtan. This also shows that Xiangtan betel nut culture is the product of Xiangtan betel nut development. This reflects that economic development nurtures the superstructure (culture and art), and in turn, culture and art promote the economic take-off, which is a universal law. Of course, from the point of view of the whole betel nut culture, a beautiful and melodious "picking betel nut" rich in rich folk song style is precisely in the form of art to express the people's special feelings towards betel nut.

In Xiangtan betel nut hundreds of years of development history, has experienced a primary, decentralized, small-scale to advanced, centralized, large-scale development process. Can be roughly divided into three stages:

The first stage: before liberation to the early 1970s, Xiangtan betel nut processing for the traditional workshop, the city's production and operation of not hundreds of households, the main representative of the Xiangtan nine total Liu Ji, Li Ji betel nut store.

The second stage: from 1981 to 1991, Xiangtan betel nut as a productive force, under the impetus of reform and opening up, has made a breakthrough development. The city's betel nut processing, operators to develop more than 4,000 households, the annual sales of betel nut reached more than 700 tons, sales amounted to about 50 million yuan. The main representatives of the betel nut stores such as Kuangda and Zhang Xinfa.

The third stage: from 1993 to the present, it is the take-off period of Xiangtan betel nut. A number of new betel nut owners such as Haojue, Wangjia, Binzhilang, Yipintang, Xiangnan, Laojia, Xiang Ai, Haixiang, Fat Brother, Xiaolongwang, Xiangqiong and so on have established themselves in Xiangtan. During this period, Xiangtan betel nut, whether in terms of quality, variety, packaging, sales, market, etc., have appeared unprecedented situation, focusing on the following six aspects of the characteristics:

First, is the form of production and processing began to break through the traditional small workshops, and gradually formed a large-scale operation, there are a number of large betel nut processing enterprises employing up to one hundred temporary workers, with daily sales of up to more than 40,000 yuan.

This is the first time I've ever seen a betel nut in the market.

Second, from the business system began to appear private shareholding system of responsibility limited company, such as Bin Zhilang Foods Limited, the king betel nut limited company, the Lord Foods Limited company and a product of the Hall Food Company Limited, Xiangtan betel nut to adapt to the needs of the development of the socialist market economy, the introduction of a new mechanism.

Third, from the betel nut processing varieties to meet the tastes of all kinds of people, the introduction of sesame, cinnamon, mint, cream, dry betel nut, wet betel nut and other flavors of betel nut. The city's several large-scale betel nut processors began in accordance with the Hunan Provincial Bureau of Standards issued by the "Edible Betel Nut Standard" requirements, the organization of on-site betel nut processing, so that the level of betel nut production and product quality in Xiangtan greatly improved. Xiangtan people's betel nut chewing habit is getting thicker and thicker, "hang your hand, walk on the street, chew betel nut, make friends." At present, the city's betel nut chewers have increased to about 30% of the city's total population.

Fourth, from the packaging appeared inside and outside the two kinds of packaging. Inner packaging and the emergence of vacuum packaging, pillow packaging, etc.; outer packaging is bright and colorful, each with its own characteristics, for the betel nut culture to write a new chapter.

Fifth, is the betel nut business channels began to break out of Xiangtan, to the province, now Changsha, Zhuzhou, Shaoyang, Yiyang, Changde, Hengyang and other places have a group of Xiangtan people to make authentic Xiangtan betel nut, leading to the province's betel nut processing boom, has become a food industry should not be underestimated as an industrial army. According to rough statistics, the number of people engaged in betel nut processing and business in the city has exceeded 10,000 (including seasonal temporary workers). The annual sales of betel nut processing is about two hundred million dollars. Especially with the establishment and development of the socialist market economic system, the city's betel nut processing industry is becoming increasingly competitive, many betel nut processing households continue to introduce a variety of sales means, bringing the city's economy is constantly active, there is a "buy betel nut lottery", "special car delivery " "Delivery on the counter" and other sales of new phenomena.

Six, is engaged in the production and operation of betel nut, greatly exceeding the historical scope of the small citizens and casual workers, a number of young people with economic acumen and modern management knowledge of the level of university education (which has Shanghai, Changsha, and other places of the aspirants) to betel nut business, not only changed the betel nut Xiangtan sector of the quality of culture, but also for the city's prosperity of the betel nut business and betel nut cultural development created a new type of talent team. A new type of talent team.

Xiangtan betel nut after hundreds of years of gradual development, and now has been all over the face of Tanzhou city and countryside, the streets and alleys, into thousands of households, ascending to the hall of elegance, the development of Xiangtan's economy plays an important role. (Xinmen wrote)